The Trinity of Misfortune

My mother has always told me that misfortunes come in threes. It’s a concept no doubt familiar to those of other Asian backgrounds, who see 3 an unlucky number. In Japan, 4 is the unlucky number because it is synonymous with the word "death" (shi), but the bad things always come in threes bit is still superstitious wisdom.

It is of course my recent run of “bad” luck that makes me ponder this trinity. While I suppose there’s no hard and fast rule as to how quickly in sequence such misfortunes must come—I’m sure the lack of hard time limit serves as evidence for those true believers, who can find their trinities in ill events set years apart—I can nevertheless consider the events which have befallen me in the last few weeks.

Even as I write this, I am sitting in a walk-in clinic, only three weeks since I was last here (of course, this will actually be published much later when I have access to the internet). Three weeks ago, I was treated here for a mild asthma attack, for which I was prescribed hideously expensive but fantastically effective medication.

That’s misfortune number one.

Of course, the second of these misfortunes was the violent collision between my head and a metal shelf, the specifics of which you can review in the post below. The removal of the 6 staples which sutured the wound is what brings me to the doctor’s office today.

Metal shelf 1, my head 0: that’s misfortune number two.

I have managed to avoid being somehow physically injured in the last week, and while I consider myself more of a man of science rather than mysticism, there is still some ingrained part of me that is on the lookout for potential misfortune number threes. To celebrate my last day at work, my coworkers and I will be going for drinks. In the grand scheme of things, it would really, really, suck if I was hit by a car coming home drunk from the party that was supposed to signal the end of my time at Canadian Tire for things bigger and better.

Cautionary advice or mystic paranoia? I'm going to hedge my bets and not tempt the trinity of misfortune.

Head wounds bleed!

Not at all related to my upcoming time in Japan, but dramatic never the less.

A little background. At work (Canadian Tire), we have these stock carts. They are 2 metre tall open-faced cages, with a metal partition that divides the cart into top and bottom (effectively a shelf). The partition can be swung up to the back wall of the cage in order to accomodate tall objects, and the cage itself is wheeled to allow people to move stock from the warehouses below to the sales floor.

Normally, the partition is secured via a locking pin. I'm sure you can see where this is going. As I was collapsing an empty box of antifreeze and putting (albeit ungently) onto the cart, the metal partition, about 30 pounds of steel, slammed into my elbow and head. At first, I thought I just hit my head, but then I felt blood trickle down my face. I had instinctively grabbed my head, and when I felt the wetness, I pulled it away to find my hand covered in blood. My coworker Tony, grabbing tires, took one look at me and cried out "Holy shit!" I was promptly moved to the back area, where the store general manager Steve happened to be walking by. He is a man prone to bouts of excitability, so when he saw me, he moved into overdrive. Our HR manager John came down, along with my supervisor Mike, and soon the Service Bay manager Inaki had arrived on the scene. Starring at my bloody headwound was a total of 5 people. To his immense credit, Steve took charge and even had the sensibility to don the latex gloves that come with the first aid kit. A gauze and a large wad of paper towel was used to keep the pressure on, and I was driven to the hospital by John.

I went to the Women's College Hospital, mostly because it was the closest, but as well because it is the quickest. Within minutes I was being seen by the triage nurse, and though the wait to see the doctor seemed long, it was really no more than 30 minutes. All the while, the blood had clotted, but my head was stinging. My shoulder and elbow were hurting too, and by the time the doctor arrived in my examination room, the pain in head had receded to a dull ache.

A quick inspection, to assess if any other physical/muscular/perceptory damage had been incurred (none was), he looked at my head. It was a 2 inch long diagonal gash, quite standard. The treatment? Staples.

Staples. I've had stitches, but staples were a new thing. The doctor poked and prodded, cleaned and sanitised, and freezed my scalp before applying the staples. I, and probably many others, can rationalise and deal with pain if they can see what is going on. I was...more anxious than normal at the prospect of having my head stapled back together, but a few click-clacks later and it was done. By this time, the adrenaline had worn off, so I was pretty tired. John was gracious enough to drive me home.

If I consider my tenure at Canadian Tire, it's kinda hard not to think I was illness and accident prone. I started my time there suffering from pneumonia. A year later, I was treated at the hospital for an asthma attack. I fell through my patio staircase about 8 feet, and just 2 weeks ago had to see a doctor about my asthma. I injured my back foolishly stepping off a ladder, and now I've had a metal shelf slam into my head.

Head wounds, as the halo of blood, iodine, and saline solution I left on the pillow while my head was being stapled will attest, bleed.

Halcyon days

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of getting ready to live in Japan, I find myself actually pretty calm and relaxed. The realisation that I'm heading to Japan is really starting to settle in, and I've been in pretty much constant contact with my predecessor, who sounds really cool. It's a real shame that I probably won't get to meet her.

Some more specifics have come my way. Unlike what I had previously thought, Genkai is not an international highschool, but rather a mid-academic school that offers an international course. I'll be teaching about 10 hours per week (10 classes, I think), handling with my co-ALT all the English classes for first years, and doing the international courses for second and third year students. Apparently, most of my students will be girls, and most of the faculty is guys. Go figure.

I'll also be teaching about once a month handicapped elementary school kids, and fortunately for me, it looks like one of the teachers there will be in my apartment block. It will definitely be an interesting experience, as teaching is for the most part a wholy new experience to me, nevermind elementary school kids, handicapped or not.

My day at school will also be long, from 8:35 to 4:45 every day, and if I'm part of a club (I will be), another hour after that. Thank the gods for Crappy Tire and their ridiculous shifts for inuring me to 7:30am- 6:30pm days.

My total rent + utilities is looking to be about 40000 yen (about $400) per month, with some pretty hefty electricity use. My apartment block, 8 units, is occupied mostly by JETs, and is 2 minutes away from the beach, 2 minutes away from the local train station (which of course doesn't actually take me anywhere near my school >_>), and may or may not have an AC, depending on who's unit I take over. Rest assured if I don't, that will be one of the first things I buy.

That's it for now. Stay tuned for more info, and for the love of the gods leave some damned comments.

Oh, last thing. Apparently, this picture (or one like it) is circulating the staff room. These will be end of me one day...

Serendipity, and other acts of Fate

Big update, so grab some snacks and settle in for the long haul.

Lets start with the big news--I have found out where I am going! I recieved an email from my predecessor, and as soon as I read it I was brimming with questions.

So where am I going? Looks like Genkai International High School in Fukutsu-shi (Fukutsu City, but IIRC Fukutsu is an amalgamation of Fukuma and Tsuyazaki townships). A quick glance at their website reveals that it's got foreign students as well as Japanese, from places like the Philippines and Hungary (those were the two that stood out the most to me), and that it's a fairly new school, being built in Showa 61, or 1986. Actually, this little bit of information comes from my mother, who also provided me with the following information. Now this is where things start to get weird.

My mother's cousin, who is much closer to me in age (I believe she's just a couple of years older than me), is a Genkai graduate. My mother has friends some 15 minutes away, and my grandmother, whose pics you can see in posts from while I was in Japan in 2005, lives some 20 minutes away by car. The coincidences keep coming.

If the Fukuoka Prefectural website is to be believed, I'll be living in Fukuma, 1 train stop north of Koga-machi, where the school is actually located. Fukuma is basically a rural town right on the JR (Japan Rail) line. So I'm not more than a half-hour from Hakata Station, which is a 10 minute walk from my cousin's apartment block in Fukuoka City. Not only that, but my mother's cousin's home when she was growing up was in Fukuma.

I don't really want to waltz into any kind of schmaltzy exhortation on Fate and kismet and random acts of god or what have you, but if you've been reading my blog at all, you'll know what a life-changing epiphany my 2005 trip to basically this area was. I am well and truly blessed in my life, and I can say with 100 per cent surity that I am the most content, anxious, giddy, excited, et cetera et cetera I have even been in my life. So far this experience has been hit after hit. I can't wait to see what comes next.

OK, so lets go on to other news. Today was the last day of Toronto PDOT, or Pre-Departure Orientation and Training (or was that last "T" for Toronto). The fabulous folks at the JETAA (JET Alumni Association) and JAVA (JApan Visitors Association), working with the Japanese Consulate provided us with a wealth of information and tips about our up-coming life in Japan.

Saturday was an early start, and I only recognized a few faces from the General Information session 3 weeks earlier. Turns out there are about 80 or so JETs going from Toronto, I believe all ALTs, and so much of our conversations were based around where we were going, if we knew what level of schooling we would be teaching, and if we had been contacted by our predecessor yet. Unsurprisingly, we're a diverse group and we're heading to diverse locations around Japan.

The day was filled with interesting seminars which helped alleviate some of the anxiety we were feeling, and given the work that went into the 3-day orientation, it only confirms that Toronto JETs are among the most prepared JETs in the world. Day 2 was similar in nature to day 1, but seemed faster because we knew what to expect.

There were some physical good and bad points. Days 1 and 2 were held at the Japan Foundation, in the heart of downtown Toronto, so getting there, even at 9 in the morning on a weekend, was easily accomplished. There was lots of lunch options near by (both days were Asian cuisine), and for me at least, it was all too familiar a location. The bad parts were the weather, while beautiful, was pretty hot, and the fact that the main room didn't have any air conditioning, which made the fairly long day seem even longer.

Day 3 was a different animal altogether. Held at the JCCC (Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre), it was a day of mostly cultural exposure. Morning seminars on things like the tea ceremony, Japanese housing and education were informative, but the funnest part was the bon-odori or traditional dancing. I expected to be treated to a show of festival dances, but as it turns out, we were all participants. It was a little bit corny, but I think it really served to give some people their first real taste of Japan. The afternoon was a little more boring, but mainly because it was more centred on things like food, manners, and language, all topics which were more or less ingrained into me as a kid. Still, it was a great wrap up to a fantastic 3 days.

It's hard to believe that D-Day is a mere 6 weeks away.

Hindsight = 20/20

Unlike my real vision, hindsight is 20/20. So now that I've calmed down a bit, I'd like to reveal some more information that has come across my desk.

Well, virtual desk, as it came in the form of an email. Having jumped the gun and emailed the Fukuoka-ken PA, I soon realised that many of the questions I had were essentially answered on www.fukuokajet.com, a JET initiated forum and website for Fukuoka JETs. However the PA, whom I suspect is a fellow canuck, was gracious enough despite my newbishness to provide some clues to my placement.

First off, I am not in Fukuoka City. While my ardent hopes were dashed, I am far from upset. In fact, I'm pretty damned happy with the prospect of living in a completely new place. Hearing from the PA nudged me one-step closer into that "OMG I'm going to Japan" mindset. The only thing I know right now about where I might be placed is that it's in the middle of Fukuoka. I think that puts me about 30 minutes away from Fukuoka City by rail.

Some other things I've found out. I'm going to be placed in a highschool that actually has an English course (versus, I think just an English lesson as part of the regular school day), so I think I can rely on the fact that the students I'll be teaching will actually want to learn, the Holy Grail of all teachers. I'll also be team-teaching with a new ALT from the US. Oh the fun we'll have correcting our respective spellings :)

I should be contacted next week by my predecessor, and so I'll be able to provide some more details then.

OMG OMG OMFG!!!

Holy crap! OK, this is a blitz blog update. I arrived home to find my official confirmation from my Contracting Organisation (CO) awaiting me. In a ritual shared my virtually all new JETs, I promptly ripped open the envelope and began leafing through the papers, in a desperate bid to find out where I was posted.

But first!

ITEM 1: The Address on the Envelope.
Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education
7-7 Higashi-Koen (East Park)
Hakata-ku (Hakata Ward)
Fukuoka-shi (Fukuoka City)

Ok, so that was heart-stopping moment one. But the rational side of my brain kicked in. Of course the Fukuoka Prefecture BoE is in Fukuoka City. Where else would it be? In the middle of no-where Fukuoka?

ITEM 2: Welcome Letter from my Prefectural Advisor (PA).
A senior JET, who is sort of a JET supervisor for all Fukuoka Pref. JETs. In this letter are a few choice statements. Among other things, reference to my placement as a Senior High-school (SHS) ALT. This means I'm going to be placed at a single high-school for the duration of my contract. Next is a description of Fukuoka City as the one of the best rated cities in Asia to live in, it's thriving international community, and most heart-stopping, that "[I will] quickly grow accustomed to [my] new life [there]."

Holy crap! Does this mean what I think it means? Am I going to be placed in my heart of hearts desire, Fukuoka City? The place where I spent hot dreamy summers, and one epiphany-granting winter? Words, inelegant things that they are, cannot hope to describe the feeling that are rushing through me at the moment.

ITEM 3: Sample Floor Plan of a Kyoshokuin Jutaku (Teacher's Apartment).
Scattered through-out the Prefecture, Teacher's Apartments are "cheap, spacious and available". At the risk of angering my readers, the listed rent is about 10,000 yen (c. $100.00) a month, with some variations from place to place. Square footage seems to be about 500-600 sqft.

Of course, Item 2 is the mainstay of my hopes, while Item 1 and 3 bring my back to reality. I find it very difficult not to get my hopes up, so for now, I will email my PA and see if I can wrangle some more information from her.

OMG OMG OMG...